being drunk and playing chess..

now, in the past 2 months, ive felt in love with chess, and for the past two years, i love to get drunk, but i cant do both of them at the same time (bad judgement and decision making)... so, im just wondering, how many ppl can play chess while being drunk (and im not talking about having a beer or two, DRUNK!). just say if you can still play at the same skill level you play sober, drunk?

unfotunatley no.  I have made some bad moves while intoxicated. 

I keep playing until I see more than 64 squares... then it's time to call it a night.

not drunk, but stoned can sometimes make for an intense experience...

HaHa...I have had some good drunk games. I have to say that the games get crazy when you spill beer on those clear glass boards the squares mysteriously disappear. Low and behold, the squares come back when it dries and I sober simultaneously. Try it some day, it makes an interesting game!

I once had a league game where I drank seven pints during the game at the end of which I announced mate in 5.  I was admonished by one of my teammates for announcing mate (rightly) but my opponent found it all highly amusing, he was aware how drunk I was getting and had expected a blunder.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that GM Short once invented some opening with another player while having had a lager (or two).  I think they christened it the Stella opening or something like that.  Never seen it used though.

Years ago I had a friend that was convinced he played blitz better when stoned than when not. Ofocurse we often got together and played blitz for hours on end and he would invariably get stoned! He was a stronger player than me at the time and rated about 200 points higher, BUT his % against me when he was stoned was always less than when he played straight! This was the fact but he simply didnt believe it and wouldnt listen and insisted on getting stoned when we played blitz. I think he just enjoyed playing stoned more....is all.

I've played a few drunken games. It tends to impair my lateral thinking. As long as my opponent sticks to the plan, it's fine.

Best of luck to you quix !  I hope you return soon but I still think you are one U G L Y   cat! 

Quix, I hope I didn't contribute to your thirstiness with our Correspondence Freestyle chess battle?

 

Anyway best of luck. 

My buddy and I are the same skill level, we used to get drunk and play games, they were funny games

I've played both drunk & stoned!

i've played drunk... it usually just takes me longer to find the right moves

Good luck, Quixotical. May we all be happier, healthier, and wiser when you return. If you're making a go at apple-picking, I don't have much hope for "wealthier".  ;)

last night i was playing, had the game dominated.... my opponent made a poor move leaving his rook open... and instead of taking it with my queen i moved another piece, not identifying the move.... at that point he took my uncontested queen.. and that was the game... about 8 moves to game over...

 

lesson:

 

dont play chess drunk... it may be fun... but you will make many more mistakes

Of course you can play! Not sure if you'd play well though

 How drunk are we talking here?  For some reason, I feel like I am sharper when I have had about a six to eight beers, which is good for a comfortably numb buzz, so I am able to sit back and really contemplate my next move, and better yet, analyze what my opponent is doing. As far as drunk, if I'm drunk then bedtime is right around the corner, nobody can really play that good if they are wasted.  It also depends on the pace of the game and the strength of the opponent, because I have played a time or two drunk and won against a stronger player, but have also lost games to weaker players.  I'm guessing it also depends on how much nourishment (food and water) you have had before you started drinking.

Well believe it or not, after a few drinks alcohol acts as a brain stimulant which may give a better perspetive of chess playing to some. For example, people may experience hightened creativity, making interesting combinations or some strong moves. I have experienced this myself, however this effect does not last too long, and after 15-20 minutes you begin to experience the real depressive effects of the alcohol, which of course would make your game more difficult. But anyway, once in a while its fun to drink and play

The only person I have heard of who did well while drunk was Joseph Henry Blackburn (1800's I think). Apparently the more he drank the better he played. They used to nickname him, the 'black death'

I wouldn't recommend drinking booze at all while playing.

Red

Back in 1972, in Kansas City, I used to play almost every day for a time with Phil the physics graduate student. He would win more often than not. One day, I got my hands on some LSD and was tripping my brains out when I went to see Phil and asked for a game of chess. I played the black side of a MacCutcheon Variation French Defense, and all the pieces seemed to be radiating fields of force, like magnetic fields, and all the patterns of the pieces possible moves seemed to stand out in high relief. Phil knew that I was acting a little odd, a little overexcited that day, but didn't know why; what he couldn't understand was why I was suddenly playing so brilliantly. I trounced him two games that day, and his domination over me was broken ever after.

Note: NOT recommended as a way of improving your chess!